Canadian Warplanes Help Blunt Major ISIL Offensive

OTTAWA — A contingent of Canada's elite commandos were thrown into a pitched day-long battle alongside Kurdish peshmerga fighters as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant launched its biggest offensive since western troops arrived in the region 18 months ago.

A three-pronged assault, involving hundreds of extremists, took place along a wide front in the sector, northwest of the Kurdish capital of Irbil, where Canadian special forces have been training local forces.

A statement from Kurdistan Regional Security Council said "car bombs and mortars and rockets" were used to open up each attack on Wednesday and they were followed up by Islamic State fighters. In one area — Nawaran — extremists set off nine car bombs, according to local reports.

The CF-18 Hornet generates vapour as it climbs races by the grandstand at the Canadian International Air Show. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

The Canadian special forces trainers laid down supporting fire to back up the Kurds as they undertook a counter-offensive Thursday.

"They came under effective fire and our guys were close enough and able to respond with fire on to those ISIL positions," said Maj.-Gen. Charles Lamarre in a hastily called briefing Thursday night.

There are 69 Canadian special forces trainers on the ground and the incident will likely re-ignite the debate about whether the troops are involved in combat.

"Our guys are always prepared because it's a dangerous environment..."

Lamarre took pains not to characterize the fighting that involved Canadians as "combat," but sometimes there is no choice but to open fire.

"Our guys are always prepared because it's a dangerous environment and they need to defend not only themselves but the forces with which they are training and providing assistance," he said.

There were no Canadian casualties.

Last winter, the question of what constitutes "combat" was the subject of intense public debate after it was revealed Canadian trainers regularly visit the largely static front and exchanged fire with ISIL fighters, and helped guide in air strikes for Kurdish forces. The questions only became sharper when Sgt. Andrew Doiron was killed in a friendly fire incident in March.

Lamarre also confirmed that two Canadian CF-18s conducted air strikes near the occupied city of Mosul, the country's second largest city. The warplanes had been on a strike mission when they were called on to take out an ISIL fighting position that was supporting the extremist offensive.

Other forces also involved

U.S. media reports say American, British and French jets also flew strikes as the multi-pronged offensive against the Kurds dragged on for over 17 hours.

The size and scale of the offensive seems to have taken both the Kurds and the American-led coalition by surprise, especially at time when U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter was telling Kurdish media in Irbil that plans for the recapture of Mosul were proceeding well.

He painted an optimistic picture, saying the intense ISIL attack demonstrated to people in Irbil that extremists can and will strike at them, but the peshmerga's effectiveness in repelling the assault showed through.

Lamarre was asked why, with all of the high-tech, western surveillance drones and spy planes — including a Canadian CP-140 Aurora — the offensive was not spotted in the build-up phase.

"I don't have all of the details yet of how this event took place in terms of the intelligence aspects,'' he said. "But there was sufficient warning for them to be able to react to it. That said, however, there was an element of surprise ISIL was able to bring to it."

Islamic State attacks in Paris and Lebanon last month were heralded as a major shift in strategy for the terror group. Lamarre wouldn't speculate on whether the massive offensive signals another new phase of the war.

"These actions illustrate the valuable contribution our forces are making to the (Kurdish Security Forces) and the fight against ISIL."

Canadian participation in the fighting came as the new Liberal government is actively considering when to withdraw its six CF-18s from combat and how to beef up the ground training mission of local forces.

Lamarre wouldn't speculate on the timing of the withdrawal of the warplanes — or how the battle might affect the government's view.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan issued a statement late Thursday, commending the troops for the action.

"These actions illustrate the valuable contribution our forces are making to the (Kurdish Security Forces) and the fight against ISIL,'' he said.

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Canada's Response To Syria Refugee Crisis Since 2011

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In 2011, internal conflict erupted in Syria that would later escalate into a full-blown civil war that rages on to this day, now complicated by the arrival of Islamic militants from neighbouring Iraq.
Since the start, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has called on countries to help resettle some of the most vulnerable Syrians who can never return home, a call that grew louder as the crisis has escalated.
Here's a look at how Canada responded over time.
(Information by The Canadian Press)
Syrians hold a large poster depicting Syria's President Bashar Assad during a rally in Damascus, Syria in 2011.

- Canada closes its embassy in Damascus, a move that would come to have major repercussions for refugee resettlement out of the Middle East as that visa post was handling the majority of the files for refugees from other countries who had sought temporary safety in Syria. Those files were then transferred to nearby countries, leaving visa officers scrambling to handle them and the start of a surge in Syrian refugee applications.
- By the end of 2012, the UNHCR had registered close to half a million Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries.
- Syrian Canadians call on Canada to do more to support the refugees, including speeding up family reunification programs and opening the doors to more refugees, but the government said without an official request from the UN for resettlement, it would not act.
Syrian refugee girls wash their clothes at a camp in Idlib, Syria, in October of 2015.

The number of people registered as refugees from Syria or being assisted by the UN hits one million.
A Syrian refugee boy at a camp in Turkey in October 2015.

The UN makes its first formal request to member countries to assist in refugee resettlement, asking for 30,000 spaces by the end of 2014.
Syrian Kurdish refugees walk in the United Nations Refugee Agency refugee camp in Suruc, Sanliurfa province, in January 2015.

The Harper Conservatives promise to admit 1,300 Syrian refugees by the end of 2014, with the majority sponsored by private groups. The 200 spots available to government-assisted refugees are not new refugee spaces — the Conservatives choose to allocate the 200 they set aside each year for the Syrian program.
Stephen Harper speaks in the House of Commons.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper visits a refugee camp in Jordan, one of the main host countries for Syrians. He announces $150 million in humanitarian aid; over the course of the conflict Canada has been one of the lead financial donors for relief efforts in the Middle East and North Africa. By this point, some $630 million has been committed.
Stephen Harper and wife Laureen Harper visit Za'atri Refugee Camp in Jordan in January 2014.

The UN High Commissioner makes a new request: an additional 100,000 places for Syrian refugees by 2016. Canada says it is reviewing its options.
Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, speaks during a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland in October 2015.

Conservative Immigration Minister Chris Alexander admits that fewer than 200 Syrian refugees have arrived in Canada since the July 2013 promise, saying the UNHCR was slow passing on referrals.
Chris Alexander speaks in the House of Commons.

By the end of the month, just over 1,000 Syrian refugees have arrived in Canada, meaning the government missed its deadline.
A Syrian Kurdish refugee walks in a UNHCR refugee camp in Suruc in January 2015.

The Conservative government commits to allowing 10,000 more Syrian refugees in by 2018, most through the private sponsorship program. The focus is to be on religious minorities.
Syrian refugee girls sit at the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) 'Child Friendly Spaces' in the Zaatari refugee camp, near the Jordanian border with Syria in 2014.

The government finally meets its July 2013 promise to resettle 1,300 people, achieving it by increasing the number of government-assisted refugees.
Stephen Harper gives the thumbs up during a photo opportunity.

The Conservatives order an audit of the government-assisted refugees coming out of Syria, citing security concerns. The review identifies no problems but delays the processing of those files for several weeks.
Chris Alexander speaks at a press conference in Toronto in September, 2015.

The Conservatives pledge that if re-elected, they will allow a further 10,000 Syrians in over the next four years, continuing a focus on those being persecuted because of religion.
Stephen Harper takes questions from the media on the campaign trail.

- Three-year-old Alan Kurdi dies during his family's escape from Syria. The photograph of his body on a Turkish beach and word his family had considered Canada as an eventual destination sees Canada's refugee response become a dominant issue in the election campaign.
- The Conservatives increase available resources for the processing of refugee applications, promise to speed up resettlement of the 10,000 originally promised places and announce they'll match donations for Syrian relief.
- The Liberals say they'll bring over 25,000 government-assisted refugees as soon as possible and encourage the private sector to take in more. They later promise to bring them in by the end of the year.
A handout photo courtesy of Tima Kurdi shows a photo of her three-year-old nephew Alan Kurdi.

The Liberals win a majority government and say they remain committed to refugee resettlement.
Justin Trudeau waves to the crowd as they arrive to Liberal election headquarters in Montreal.